When I talk to college students about Spy, it's like I'm describing something that happened in the 19th century. We were very lucky. We started Spy at a time when our generation had arrived at full adulthood and wanted to connect to its anti-establishment youth.

We're focusing on particular works films, books, pieces of music, architecture that deserve the name 'icon' and have this influence on our culture. Everybody knows those things, but almost because they're icons, people don't look below the fact of them.

It is so much the first among equals of that world.

It's high and low (culture), and we're casting a net wide. Almost everyone knows of these things; it's not like we're bringing them some obscure things.

We got 200 e-mails (about it). Lots of people had the same reaction. They were assigned to read it in school and didn't. We try to take things that sometimes people turn off of because they're introduced to them too early or for some other reason, and try to make them entertaining.

We're focusing on particular works — films, books, pieces of music, architecture — that deserve the name 'icon' and have this influence on our culture. Everybody knows those things, but almost because they're icons, people don't look below the fact of them.